A new trend on TikTok has caught fire with Gen Alpha, taking the internet and the world by storm. Called “Ballerina Cappuccina,” this meme was originally made by 24-year-old Susanu Sava-Tudor of Romania in March. The original video that introduced the concept has received more than 45 million views and 3.8 million likes on TikTok.
This Ballerina Cappuccina is a representative of a larger trend called “Italian Brainrot,” as Sava-Tudor explains, consisting of absurd humor that embodies a cinematic idealization of Italy as opposed to the truth. The trend has made room for some downright silly characters. Among them are a cappuccino-headed ballerina, a crocodile-bomber-plane mash-up called “bobardiro crocodilo,” and a sneaker-clad shark named “tralaero tralala.”
Kids are jumping on this trend, frequently using terms like “Ballerina Cappuccina,” “Skibidi,” and “Italian Brainrot” in their day to day exchanges. This is one of the interesting phenomena that kids use to connect with each other and express themselves. It gives them the permission to be goofy, just like a contemporary knock-knock joke can!
That randomness of the trend is by design, as Yotam Ophir, a communications professor at the University at Buffalo, emphasized. He states, “The sheer randomness of the meme is the point,” emphasizing how it adds to its appeal. Ophir further notes that children derive a sense of belonging and exclusivity from these trends, remarking, “What users get from it is the sense that they are in the know — that they know something their mom doesn’t know.”
To understand what sets this trend apart, we brought in Philip Lindsay, an expert on social media creation and Gen Alpha slang. He describes “Italian Brainrot” as “blending AI-images and videos with made-up stories.” This blend of digital disorder and artistic freedom speaks to younger audiences, fueling its fever-pitch popularity on TikTok, Instagram, and more.
All of the excitement surrounding the trend’s popularity and integration into day-to-day life isn’t without murmurings of discontent. We have heard stories of kids yelling Ballerina Cappuccina slogans in school, getting sent to the principal’s office for making too much noise! One concerned parent expressed frustration, stating, “If I hear ballerina cappuccino one more time…”
Content creator Summer Fox recently went viral when she confessed it’s getting hard for her to stay abreast of changing vernacular. She laughed as she explained how she had missed the boat on the “Ballerina Cappuccina” craze. Unfortunately, even with her communication efforts, she was still missing the mark when it came to captivating younger attendees.
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